Checklist 2005

Alright, just so we're sure that everything is ready to go for next year, lets go over the list:

IT and Customer Service outsourced to Bangalore - check

Manufacturing Plant Up and running in China - check

R&D in San Francisco - check

ISO/TS/QS Certifications - check

Latest Server Software - check

Guess what.. everyone has these things too.. The ramp up is over. Finished. Everyone is at zero again, or worse yet, some are less than zero.. 2005 is the first year in recent history where you (an organization/a leader/a business owner) have to actually think again. So, to help you get ready for the hard (you ain't seen nothin' yet) road ahead, I have prepared the following list of MUST reads for 2005. Please note, there will be no mention of FISH! or stories of bravery, or gimmicky what-have-you's. This is a book list for the next era of business. This is a thinkin' game. Saddle up.

Blink - Malcolm Gladwell is back with his follow up to The Tipping Point. It doesn't come out until January, but you can read exerpts on gladwell.com or pick up the January copy of Fast Company to get a peek..

Medici Effect - Frans Johansson explores the power of connections that lead to breakthrough innovations.

The Wisdom of Crowds - James Surowiecki explores the phenomena of collective thought, and the power of group thinking.

Deep Smarts - Dorothy Leonard-Barton and Walter Swap explore the transfer of business knowledge within an organization.

Blue Ocean Strategy - W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne explore the strategic perspective of becoming a category of one.

Sure, sure, I was down on lists a while back. However, as these books started to pile up, I had to do something...

You are what you read. Your organization is what you read. My point - read, then do.

This is the year to do it.

Spread the Word

Finally, four days after coming down with one of the worst cases of flu I've ever had, my head is finally clear enough to post ... I know boo hoo...poor Kyle..

Again, the coincidence thing is rearing its head again.. could it possibly be a case of the Medici Effect? Who knows..

Anyway, while delirious this week, I was contemplating the concept of a virus, and how it would work as a business model. Sure, we all know of Viral Marketing, but what about viral business strategy?

Since I cracked the spine, heck, since I saw the title, I've been a huge fan of George Stalk's Hardball. In the book, one of his strategies is to unleash overwhelming force on your competition. Sounds like the flu huh, overwhelming.. Imagine, if you could create an infectious, overwhelming force of employees. An organization hellbent on becoming a Category of One. Once your organization has defeated its first competitor, your organization mutates, becomes stronger, more resistant, more powerful... it then attacks it's next target...

Time to get infectious...

Fire the Marketing Department!

Talk about Lovemarks..

Yesterday, as I ate my lunch I 'attended' a webinar from Tom Peters and Kevin Roberts (the author of Lovemarks). As always, I sat back and thought about how many products out there are so far removed from the lovemarks concept. I thought how sad it was that companies that produced these generic, commoditized products often employ a number of Marketing folks who produce generic commoditized ad campaigns...

Enter George Masters, a freelance graphic designer, not employed by Apple. What does he do..? He loves the Apple iPod so much that he designs an entire commercial. For fun!!! 160 hours of programming. The crazy thing, is that it has been viewed over 52,000 times, and has been profiled in Wired magazine... I'm just curious - how did your last campaign do?

My point is - in true permission marketing fashion, focus on your product, let your customers a) seek YOU out, and b) spread the 'love' if your product is remarkable.

If you haven't seen it, here is the link.. let it load, and enjoy.

Is your product a lovemark?

Slam Dunk

Well, you heard it here first folks... In a long line of high profile 'you gotta see this' media darling companies, including Southwest Airlines, Harley Davidson, GE, Hewlett Packard, and Kmart.. I would like to add 2005's company... none other than.. Dunkin' Donuts.

Yes, for some odd reason (can someone say - PR) Dunkin' Donuts is taking a swift lead in the media these days profiling their bold new strategy - focus on coffee. Personally I can't wait for the onslaught of books and articles touting the leadership genius of CEO Jon Luther (where have you heard of him - he is none other than the former CEO of another great company - Popeye's Chicken and Biscuits).

I'm not sure if I should be laughing or not. I have to give it to a man who calls the almighty Krispy Kreme a 'one trick pony'. So, to give you all a head start, here are the first of many articles you are sure to see this coming year highlighting the good folks at Dunkin' Donuts...

A Java Jolt for Donkin' Donuts - from Business Week
It's Not About the Donuts - from Fast Company

I just hope part of their strategy is to bring back the original Dunker...

Holiday Reading

Don't worry, I'll post again before the holidays, I just wanted to give you all a heads up...For those of you who love to read (and those of you who are about to love to read...) I have a new trend to report.. Publishers are making authors more accountable for producing good books. How? By publishing the first chapter (yes, in most cases the WHOLE first chapter) FREE online. So, before you rush out to buy any books.. take a quick trip to the publisher's website, and have a quick read.

To get you started, check out Random House (they own everything).

Let me know what you're reading..

The Stuff of Legends

Ok, I admit it, I'm a little bit hyper about new technologies and inventions. In a number of workshops I have touted, not only Dean Kamen, but his invention the Segway as brilliant. Know anyone who owns one? Ever seen one on the street? Me neither (I will however get one eventually..). Yesterday I received Segway's newsletter, and they have a prototype product (the Centaur - pictured above). Will it ever go to production? Who knows..

I guess what I'm trying to say is that your organization, now matter how innovative it is (or at least claims to be) had better have a product that people will actually buy. Don't build something.. mythical...

My recommendation to Dean, design a little, make a little, sell a little.. then decide...

I think I'm the only one reading books these days...

I often joke that I single handedly keep Amazon.ca in business. I order 3-4 books a month on average...(sometimes more..) I browse book stores, check publishers' websites (yes.. I do.. really..) and spend an awful lot of time on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, 800-CEO-READ, and Chapters.ca...

Recently I came across Executive Book Summaries' Top Business Books of 2004. As I sat back and pondered the list.. I thought to myself.. there were certainly a number of good books this year.. but, not one of them was a true runaway success.. hmm... am I the only one reading? So, I did some research.. as of today, Good to Great is ranked #73 of ALL books on Amazon.com - AND IT WAS PUBLISHED IN 2001!!!

Here are a couple of this years 'best business books' in comparison:

Generating Buy-in: Mastering the Language of Leadership - ranked: 192,167

Growing Your Company's Leaders - ranked 124,355

Ideas are Free - ranked: 18, 585

A Bias for Action - ranked 12,263

and the best of this year (by rank)...

The First 90 Days - ranked: 885

My point? Help these great books get up the ranking chart. You (and your organization) are what you read. There are thousands of great books out there. Read them!